Senior's take on Santa Clara's biggest problems

By Chris Cavagnaro

I absolutely love this school. If I had to make the decision again, I would still come here.

But even though Santa Clara has been a great place to spend four years, there is no shortage of ridiculous crap that goes on at this campus.

Since this is my last article and I won't have a chance to write about any of these issues individually, here is my list, in no particular order, of 10 things that go on at this school that annoy me.

* Santa Clara's anti-fun policy

We aren't getting a football team back, the Greek system is staying off campus and the alcohol policy is getting stricter without making anyone safer. Is it just me, or is University President Paul Locatelli., S.J., on a mission to ruin everyone's fun?

* Dangerous drinking rules

Speaking of the alcohol policy, it is ridiculous that students still get punished if someone calls the EMTs for them.

The administration stated a new alcohol policy was needed because transports were up, but all the new policy does is decrease the incentive for students to get medical help for a friend who might be in serious danger.

* Discussion of campus issues lacking

The MCC stifles discourse through attrition. The combination of fear and apathy on campus keeps a lot of voices silent and has created a general disdain for the MCC among the silent majority of students. This is, of course, counterproductive to combating racism at Santa Clara, which is a very real problem.

* RLCs, not as advertised

The RLCs are pretty much a failure. I may be biased because I spent two years in Communitas, which basically is the RLC without a theme, but the RLCs seem to really only do two things.

Unity RLC just isolates all the minority students from the rest of the campus, which doesn't help the racism problem. And Loyola and da Vinci just isolate members of two of the most docile RLCs in the newest, nicest dorms, which doesn't seem like a coincidence.

* What happened to Western Civ?

Removing the Western Civilization requirement from the new core curriculum is ludicrous. What kind of liberal arts school doesn't require Western Civ? The claim that students don't need Western Civ classes because they were exposed to it in high school is about as ridiculous as assuming that students don't need to take calculus in college because they have already taken geometry.

* Administrators getting involved off campus

The administration needs to quit wasting time interfering in benign, off-campus incidents.

My housemate recently had to go to a judicial hearing because our house received three 48s in one year and Santa Clara police issued a fine. Isn't the fine punishment enough?

What's even more ridiculous: Some friends of mine broke a plank in their fence, and their neighbors complained to the school. Now the student tenants have to attend a meeting with an administrator.

* Blatant disregard for student safety off campus

And while these administrators are wasting time dealing with fences, really scary stuff is going on off campus.

There have been two drug busts at the apartment complex next to my house in the past year. There was a police standoff at an apartment on Bellomy Street two years ago, only to be followed by a murder a year later.

And through it all, the administration has remained silent.

* Less than satisfying food service

Bon Appetit: They have a monopoly, so they provide mediocre food and terrible service, and rip us off in the process.

And as if that wasn't enough, Bon Appetit has the nerve to insult our intelligence by insisting that they offer "competitive prices," like almost $8 for a burger and fries that are about on par with McDonald's quality.

* Bogus book prices

The Bookstore: This one is a no-brainer. They also have a monopoly, and they also rip us off.

The only alternative? Get a decent price online, but wait until week four to get your books.

* 'Inaccessibility' of birth control

Santa Clara's birth control policy is stuck in the Stone Age. The policy doesn't really stop anyone from obtaining contraception, but the fact that the health center can't provide it because the Pope says so is embarrassing.

Chris Cavagnaro is a senior political science major.